GDE Eco vs full torque Eco vs hot, your experiences

diesel_guy86 · **Posted:** Sun Dec 22, 2013 1:03 pm

I've pretty much broke down and decided to go all out on my liberty. I ordered the euro tc and am gonna call GDE Monday to send them my ecm and TCM. My question is what's everyone's experience with each tune? I love power and more is never enough, but I love the economy of my libby and want to improve it any way I can. I have already read about all the tunes on gde's website. Also I'm getting my injectors checked out, should I install bigger nozzles or leave em the way they are?

papaindigo · **Posted:** Sun Dec 22, 2013 1:21 pm

1. call Keith today. He often answers the phone on weekends.
2. I would not spend $s on getting injectors "checked" out. Just run a couple of tanks with diesel kleen or some such
3. don't even think about messing with noozles.
4. I really liked the ecotune as does my son.

diesel_guy86 · **Posted:** Sun Dec 22, 2013 1:35 pm

There getting "checked" because 2 of them had cut orings, with one of them not looking that great. So for $30 a piece they're getting new o rings, spray pattern checked and cleaned. Its not something that "has" to be done but would be the most convenient right now.

papaindigo · **Posted:** Sun Dec 22, 2013 3:57 pm

Worth doing if convenient.

diesel_guy86 · **Posted:** Sun Dec 22, 2013 7:26 pm

I see you have the gde turbo kit, what's your thoughts on it? Did you see a mpg improvement with the Eco, and if so how much?

flman · **Posted:** Sun Dec 22, 2013 7:32 pm

I have all 3 tunes, the Hot tune is quicker then the Eco. The Hot Tune rolls a little coal at WOT. But it is just as efficient for normal driving as the Eco. For sure get the Hot, same money, more power and touque.

The TCM tune puts the jeep almost into lug mode before it down shifts. I wish I had more control over it while pulling grades, sometime I have to push the pedal harder to initiate a down shift. But it is better then the F37 and saves some fuel.

diesel_guy86 · **Posted:** Sun Dec 22, 2013 9:17 pm

Quote:

I have all 3 tunes, the Hot tune is quicker then the Eco. The Hot Tune rolls a little coal at WOT. But it is just as efficient for normal driving as the Eco. For sure get the Hot, same money, more power and touque.

The TCM tune puts the jeep almost into lug mode before it down shifts. I wish I had more control over it while pulling grades, sometime I have to push the pedal harder to initiate a down shift. But it is better then the F37 and saves some fuel.

that's what I was thinking, but I wanted to see what other experience was. if they got better or worse fuel mileage with the hot vs the others, too high egt, or what. I know with my duramax turned up to +120hp I can put the tranny into limp mode, didn't know if there was anything like that on these.

Has anyone twin turbo'd there crd? I know theres a turbo kit from gde, but I can add another turbo to clean up the smoke from the hot tune for half that. but that's a lot of work, and would require relocating stuff in an already cramped engine bay, wishful thinking I guess. I have a garrett gt2860 ball bearing turbo that would be almost perfect, not sure how the computer would handle the extra boost though, ill ask kieth for his thoughts tomorrow.

flman · **Posted:** Mon Dec 23, 2013 7:40 am

diesel_guy86 wrote:

Quote:

I have all 3 tunes, the Hot tune is quicker then the Eco. The Hot Tune rolls a little coal at WOT. But it is just as efficient for normal driving as the Eco. For sure get the Hot, same money, more power and touque.

The TCM tune puts the jeep almost into lug mode before it down shifts. I wish I had more control over it while pulling grades, sometime I have to push the pedal harder to initiate a down shift. But it is better then the F37 and saves some fuel.

that's what I was thinking, but I wanted to see what other experience was. if they got better or worse fuel mileage with the hot vs the others, too high egt, or what. I know with my duramax turned up to +120hp I can put the tranny into limp mode, didn't know if there was anything like that on these.

Has anyone twin turbo'd there crd? I know theres a turbo kit from gde, but I can add another turbo to clean up the smoke from the hot tune for half that. but that's a lot of work, and would require relocating stuff in an already cramped engine bay, wishful thinking I guess. I have a garrett gt2860 ball bearing turbo that would be almost perfect, not sure how the computer would handle the extra boost though, ill ask kieth for his thoughts tomorrow.

Just get the Eco tune if you don't want a little bit of smoke.

papaindigo · **Posted:** Mon Dec 23, 2013 9:17 am

Thoughts:
1. I got the GDE turbo as a retirement present to myself not because I "needed" it. Extra power is nice but rarely used and electric control of the variable vanes is also a plus as the vacuum tower behind the air box goes away. On the other hand the extra power overwhelms the OEM, not Euro, torque converter (massive shudder within 50' of "stuffing" the go pedal) hence my 2m retirement present of a Suncoast TC.
2. EcoTune is great. About a 20% improvement in mpg plus more power plus less soot in engine plus exhaust smoke disappeared.
3. basic TCM tune is ok. Main benefit is return to pre F-37 shift points which gives a bit of improvement in mpg around town. Not much benefit in mpg if most of your driving is highway above 62mph when your tranny is fully locked up anyway. If you tow a lot the tow tune is probably good.

etravlr · **Posted:** Tue Dec 31, 2013 12:57 pm

My Experience: I have been running the HOT tune for about 9 months. Great power or gas mileage when needed.

Was thinking about the GDE Turbo kit but Keith suggested I save the money until mine fails. Great customer service and advice. Had another issue with a TCM for the tranny and he helped me out with that as well.

Hot Tune: Stay out of the upper end of the throttle curve and the mileage is impressive. The lower throttle curve is the same as the Eco tune. Less soot over all. WOT = black smoke (good stuff)

Hot tune Performance is good. No complaints. Great power, torque and repsonse. I tow a 3000lb trailer with no issues. I did have to upgrade my convertor (euro) due to shudder after adding the Hot tune. The Euro converter either has a lower stall speed or my old one was slipping. Drivability is much improved. I did add the Transgo shift kit (listed below)

Cold starts well, many mornings here in MN have been below zero this winter already. The cold weather did drop my mileage quite a bit.

I have the Tow Tune and have gotten used to the shift points. No complaints, performance is awsome.

mass-hole · **Posted:** Thu Jan 02, 2014 11:48 am

I don't have a tune yet, but I am definitely going with either the full torque eco or hot. I will change my torque converter if i start feeling shudder. I drove about 4 hrs yesterday on the freeway(70-80 mph) and really wished I had some more power during TC lockup. Getting my transmission to downshift from 5th requires me to mat the throttle and it seems unnecessarily dramatic just to make a pass. it would be nice if I could leave it in 5th and have enough power to make a quick pass. The non-FT eco tune only makes 10ft-lbs more torque than stock during TC lockup so I can't see it helping a whole lot during my above situation.

diesel_guy86 · **Posted:** Fri Jan 03, 2014 1:27 am

I ended up going with the hot tune and TCM tune, also bought the euro spec converter. Waiting for the head to get back so I can mock up the second turbo to see if it will fit. Getting that extra air will really help to clean up the exhaust as well as reduce egts and operating temps. Also help with torque in 5th gear when you want to pass like you said.

KD6ICZ · **Posted:** Sat Jan 04, 2014 7:54 pm

I see you bought the hot tune but remember you can get the Eco Tune for only $100 more. I have both HOT and Eco Full Torque with the Eco Tune in the TCM. I also have the Suncoast TC. I prefer the Eco Tune Full Torque for everyday driving. I feel the Hot Tune is too rich of a mixture and it actually feels more sluggish to me. The smoke is too much for my taste too. That's money going out the tailpipe!

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crdjoe · **Posted:** Sat Jan 04, 2014 8:00 pm

I have a 2005 Jeep Liberty crd with the GDE eco tune mileage is anywhere from 19 to 35 mpg the 19 is Michigan winter time around town I got 26 to 30 in the California sierra mountains speed limit is 55 to 65 it likes that and passed everybody on the uphill in overdrive I thought seen people crying ....LOL. I bought some Seafoam spray and lube intake manifold cleaner and it really works used it twice before we went to Yosemite, Sequoia, Vegas, and Grand Canyon. 7600 miles in 2 weeks it really improves throttle response and sensitivity. Its not very expensive 9 to 12 dollars but make sure it has the curvey tube taped to the can OReilly's tried to sell the second can without it. Its a love hate thing. Love to drive it and hate to work on it! :JEEPIN:

diesel_guy86 · **Posted:** Sat Jan 04, 2014 8:44 pm

Quote:

I feel the Hot Tune is too rich of a mixture and it actually feels more sluggish to me. The smoke is too much for my taste too. That's money going out the tailpipe!

That's why I'm gonna try to add the second turbo, should clean the smoke up and keep it responsive. Plus 2 turbos always look good under the hood

DOC4444 · **Posted:** Sun Jan 05, 2014 10:25 am

I dyno tested all the tunes available 5 years ago. Check my old posts for details. The HOT tune returns similar mileage to the ECO with tbe TCM tune if you do not go beyond quarter throttle. The "tow tune" keeps you in 4rth until 70 mph. Really helps with towing a heavy trailer. We have used these tunes and the euro TC for over 60 K miles with very good results.

DOC

diesel_guy86 · **Posted:** Sun Jan 05, 2014 12:17 pm

Awesome results doc, I have a full size truck to care of the towing. The most my crd hauls is the 4 of us plus baggage. Can't wait to get this project done to see what difference the hot tune makes.

DOC4444 · **Posted:** Sun Jan 05, 2014 4:53 pm

The other reason to get the "tow tune" is much better acceleration from 60 to 70MPH. Either of the "original" TCM tunes save 3-4 MPG when traveling between 35 and 50MPH. Keith also now offers a version that does not lock the TC until about 45MPH. Some people could not live with the increased vibration that occurs under 45MPH with the TC locked. However, most of the fuel economy gain is then lost.

DOC

diesel_guy86 · **Posted:** Sun Jan 05, 2014 6:25 pm

Would be nice to have a tow/haul pushbutton mounted somewhere that could switch between the tunes. Not sure how it would work, just saying it would be nice.
Ours is pretty much just a grocery getter and kid hauler, so I don't believe I'd benefit from having the tow tune.
I'm really anxious to get this thing back together and see what my mpg does with the new tunes. Was averaging 28mpg mixed driving.

KD6ICZ · **Posted:** Tue Jan 07, 2014 2:30 pm

diesel_guy86 wrote:

Would be nice to have a tow/haul pushbutton mounted somewhere that could switch between the tunes. Not sure how it would work, just saying it would be nice.
Ours is pretty much just a grocery getter and kid hauler, so I don't believe I'd benefit from having the tow tune.
I'm really anxious to get this thing back together and see what my mpg does with the new tunes. Was averaging 28mpg mixed driving.

That's why I opted for the Eco Tune. I can manually tell the transmission to hold gears by turning off overdrive and even downshifting if necessary. I can't tell it to up shift.

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GDE Eco vs full torque Eco vs hot, your experiences

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